The Avalanche overcame a four-goal deficit, the Minnesota Wild took over first place in the overall standings, Patrik Laine scored in his debut with the Canadiens, the Flames honor Johnny Gaudreau, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
NHL.COM: The Colorado Avalanche overcame a 4-0 deficit to defeat the Buffalo Sabres 5-4. Nathan MacKinnon scored twice and collected an assist while Scott Wedgewood stopped 22 shots after replacing Alexandar Georgiev in the Avalanche net. Tage Thompson tallied two goals for the Sabres.
Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Avalanche acquired Wedgewood on Saturday to add more experienced depth behind Georgiev, who continues to battle inconsistency this season. Georgiev got the hook after giving up four goals on eight shots. Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin left this game because of back spasms in the third period.
An overtime goal by Kirill Kaprizov gave the Minnesota Wild a 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks, vaulting the Wild into sole possession of first place in the overall standings with 38 points. Frederick Gaudreau and Jake Middleton also scored and Filip Gustavsson stopped 30 shots as the Wild extended their win streak to four games. Quinn Hughes and Jake DeBrusk replied for the Canucks.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Wild also set a franchise record for the most points in their first 25 games of the season. Center Joel Eriksson Ek left the game in overtime with an injured right leg. There was no postgame update about his condition
Kaprizov has 16 goals and 23 assists for 39 points in 24 games. He’s tied with MacKinnon and Carolina Hurricanes forward Martin Necas in points but leads the league in that category because he’s scored more goals and has a league-leading 1.63 points per game.
The Canucks played without defenseman Filip Hronek, who will be sidelined for eight weeks after undergoing a non-surgical lower-body procedure.
Montreal Canadiens winger Patrik Laine scored in his season debut and teammate Nick Suzuki scored in overtime to beat the New York Islanders 2-1. Sam Montembeault got the win with a 30-save performance. Anders Lee scored for the Islanders.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Laine suffered a knee injury during preseason that kept him out of the lineup for the opening two months of the season. He was touched by the reception he received from the Bell Centre crowd.
Calgary Flames goaltender Dan Vladar made 16 saves to shut out the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-0 on the night the Flames honored the late Johnny Gaudreau in the first game in Calgary between the two teams. Rasmus Andersson, Kevin Bahl, and Yegor Sherangovich were the goal scorers. Elvis Merzlikins stopped 19 shots for the Jackets.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Gaudreau began his NHL career in Calgary, spending nine seasons with the Flames before signing with the Blue Jackets in July 2022. An alleged drunk driver killed him and his brother Matthew on Aug. 29.
Flames winger Andrei Kuzmenko was a healthy scratch after scoring one goal and nine points in 25 games. He was held scoreless in his previous nine games.
St. Louis Blues winger Jordan Kyrou scored twice in a 4-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets, handing the Jets their fourth straight defeat. Dylan Holloway and Robert Thomas also scored for the resurgent Blues, who are 3-0-1 since Jim Montgomery took over as head coach. Mark Scheifele tallied for the slumping Jets.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The loss knocked the Jets out of first place in the Western Conference standings. After bursting from the gate with a 17-3-0 record, the Jets have dropped five of their last six contests. Before the game, the Jets announced winger Nikolaj Ehlers (lower body) was placed on injured reserve retroactive to Nov. 29 and recalled forward Brad Lambert.
The Seattle Kraken snapped a three-game losing skid by doubling up the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2, handing the latter their third straight loss. Jaden Schwartz and Yanni Gourde each had a goal and an assist and Matty Beniers collected two assists. Hurricanes forward Martin Necas had a goal and an assist.
Vegas Golden Knights goalie Adin Hill had a 28-save shutout and Ivan Barbashev scored the only goal to blank the Edmonton Oilers 1-0. Stuart Skinner stopped 15 shots for the Oilers, whose three-game win streak ended.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This was the first regular-season game in over 80 years ending with zero penalties and one goal or fewer scored. The last time that happened was Feb 20, 1944, between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Chicago Blackhawks.
The Pittsburgh Penguins blew a 4-1 lead but defeated the Florida Panthers 5-4 on an overtime goal by Bryan Rust. Evgeni Malkin had a goal and an assist for the Penguins, who’ve won four straight games (26 points) and sit one point out of the final Eastern Conference wild-card berth. Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk scored two goals and collected two assists to pass the 600-point mark in his NHL career.
Boston Bruins forward Pavel Zacha scored in overtime to nip the Detroit Red Wings 3-2. Nikita Zadorov and Justin Brazeau also scored for the Bruins and Joonas Korpisalo made 24 saves for the win. Lucas Raymond scored both goals for the Red Wings.
An overtime goal by William Eklund carried the San Jose Sharks to a 2-1 upset of the Washington Capitals. Tyler Toffoli also scored for the Sharks as Mackenzie Blackwood turned aside 27 shots. Nic Dowd replied for the Capitals.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Sharks (25 points) have won three straight games and four of their last five, moving within three points of the final Western Conference wild-card berth.
Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin remains sidelined recovering from a broken left fibula. He was off to a great start before the injury with 15 goals in 18 games. RG.org’s Sergey Demidov cited a source close to Ovechkin attributing the left winger’s performance to a 33-pound weight loss (“from 258 to 225 pounds”) during the offseason.